The Taming of the Jack O'Neill
by The Glorious Felines
Summary: It won't take a village to raise this child... It'll take a whole f-king military base. Plus some alien allies. JxD mpreg
1. The News

Chapter 1: The News

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, we don't own.

Jack O'Neill was a worried man. It had been a full ten days since he had found his lover –one Dr. Daniel Jackson – huddled up on their bathroom floor puking his guts out. The same routine had been repeated every day since, often intermingled with the linguist falling asleep over his work or bursting into tears at the slightest of provocations. Finally, when Daniel had fainted just SG-1 was about to go off world, enough was enough. Now Jack paced nervously outside the infirmary while Janet Fraiser ran a battery of tests on the ever-ailing Daniel.

"Sir." Sam Carter offered tentatively. "I'm sure Daniel will be fine. He's pretty resilient for all the trouble he gets in. Dr. Fraiser has taken care of him every time something has happened. If there's anyone you can trust with him, it's Janet."

In the infirmary, Dr. Fraiser watched cringing as she handed Daniel a vomit pan. "It's been ten days?" she asked him, marking information on a clipboard. "It can't be food poisoning, Daniel."

Daniel gave her as best a glare as he could while heaving up what he believed was the last little bit of his stomach lining. "What else could it be? We've not been off world in over a week and I haven't messed with anything brought back from off world. I haven't had the time since I've been trying to catch up on the translations I keep falling asleep over." He mentally cursed in every language he knew as he went back to dry-heaving.

"How has your home life been?" Janet asked. She produced a syringe of a clear liquid and injected it into the IV to combat the nausea. "How are you and Jack doing?" She ran a friendly hand up and down his back, inwardly cringing at her helplessness to ease his illness. One of the techs was running blood and urine analyses while she attempted to stall the symptoms. Poor Daniel just seemed to get more miserable.

Daniel groaned as he lay back on the bed, a wave of tiredness washing over him as the meds kicked in. "There has to be _something_ wrong with me. And I want to know what so we can fix it and I can get on with my life." He yawned.

"Daniel…how is your sex life?" The voice was that of Dr. Eva Chance Pratt, Fraiser's protégé. The petite strawberry-blonde was clutching a sheath of papers, looking perplexed. "I –I mean…Dr. Jackson…are you and Colonel O'Neill…active?"

Fraiser frowned and took the papers. Eva Chance rarely asked sensitive questions; Fraiser sometimes had to force her to ask when a concerned airman's last period was. As the chief medical officer began to read the results provided by her tech, Eva Chance emptied the kidney-shaped pan. "I-It might explain some of my findings," added the younger woman.

Daniel blinked. "Excuse me? Jack and I's sex life is our private business, thank you. We're both clean so I don't see what it has to do with anything involving me being sick." He looked between the two women.

Eva Chance colored visibly as Fraiser gasped, the reality sinking in. The elder looked up from the papers with eyes wide. "Daniel, I'm afraid it does involve you being sick."

The younger spoke to her shoes. "Dr. Jackson, the urine and blood test both found an elevated hormone level which is only found in…in pregnant women. Your estrogen levels are also elevated, and there was trace amounts of blood in a sample I took from your vomit. I…I think…"

"Eva Chance's findings say you're pregnant, Daniel," Fraiser said to her subordinate's relief.

Daniel sputtered. "But that's…I can't…I'm MALE for Heaven's sake! There's no possible way I can be pregnant. I don't…I'm not made to conceive and carry and deliver children!"

Eva Chance coughed. "Dr. Jackson, in your career in the Stargate Program, you've died sixteen times and Ascended and Descended twice. Nothing about you is impossible."

Fraiser chuckled, amused by her young tech. "We want to do a CAT scan and a sonogram to be sure. Dr. Pratt is right; you've been exposed to a lot of strange things since you've been here. We want to clear the findings as false positives. It's standard procedure." She nodded to Eva Chance, signaling her to prep the equipment.

Daniel took his glasses off and rubbed his face with both hands. He dropped them with a sigh. "Alright. But I want Jack present just in case." He had no idea what he, let alone _JACK_, was going to do if he was indeed pregnant.

"I'll let Colonel O'Neill in," added Eva Chance, scampering to the door.

Jack half-ran to Daniel's beside and took the archaeologist's hand. "They figure out what was wrong?" he asked, though he wanted to kiss Daniel better. However, he reminded himself that Daniel had been vomiting not ten minutes before, so that may have been gross.

Daniel swallowed sharply. "Well they have a theory. Janet wants to run a couple tests to confirm it. I just wanted you here." He closed his eyes and squeezed Jack's hand. "They…they think I'm pregnant." He waited for Jack's reaction.

Having been Daniel's lover for almost two years, not much really surprised Jack O'Neill. Today, however, that pronouncement had him floored. He looked at the two attending medical women as if they had sprouted two extra heads. "I think they may have spent too much time on-base. That's impossible. I know from intimate experience that you're male, Daniel."

Eva Chance shuddered where she stood across the room. "Way too much information, Colonel," she muttered.

Daniel opened his eyes and gestured at the two women. "That's what I told them. But as Dr. Pratt pointed out, I've died sixteen times and Ascended twice. And _that_ was supposed to be impossible."

"…She has a point," he admitted, glancing at Fraiser. "How you feeling?" Immediately he regretted it. Unbidden, an image of Sara when she was pregnant with Charlie sprang to mind. When he had asked her the same, it had not been pretty.

Daniel gave Jack a small smile. "Well I'm not throwing up anymore. Though I'm not completely sold on their theory. You okay?"

In a rare show of public affection, Jack lifted the hand he held and kissed it. "Just worried about you." His free hand rose to tousle the already unruly hair. "Listen to Fraiser for once, okay? Don't rush off to work again."

Eva Chance rolled over a portable sonogram and handed her supervisor a clear bottle of gel before taking up station to take notes. Fraiser turned her attention to her patient. "Let me see your stomach, Daniel."

With a huge sigh, Daniel pulled up his shirt. "I still think your idea is impossible. And I do not rush off to work Jack. I just happen to like my job."

"You do too, Space Monkey." Jack pointed out, distracting Daniel from the cool gel being spread on his stomach. "Remember when you tore up your shoulder and went back to work as soon as the drugs wore off?"

Fraiser's eyes moved to the black-and-white display screen, moving first over the top of Daniel's stomach and then down, scanning intestines. She didn't want to think that he was pregnant, but Dr. Pratt's record of diagnosis and treatment was impeccable. Being a younger woman, she was more familiar with newer medical conditions and genetic defects than Fraiser was. Eva Chance may have been shy, but she was a good doctor. She wouldn't have brought back the result without checking and triple-checking the analysis. With luck, if the archaeologist really was pregnant, she would have an answer as to how.

"There were very important translations I had to do. No one else could read them," Daniel replied.

"They weren't so important that you had a reason to risk your health, Dan-" Jack broke off as a new sound started throbbing in the room. It was a sound he hadn't heard in nearly twenty years, but he knew it well: the sonogram distortion of a fetus's beating heart.

"Holy shit," he breathed.

Daniel stared at the sonogram screen where something fluttering, obviously the fetus's heart, was pictured. "That's…It's…I'm…" His eyes rolled back into his head and he dropped back further on the bed in a dead faint.


	2. The Result of the 17th Life

Chapter 2: The Result of the 17th Life

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

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><p>A few hours later, the sonogram was dark, but Jack held a printout of their developing child in his hand as he waited for Daniel to wake. Eva Chance was standing by to explain the 'miracle'. Jack, however, was unsettled. Since Charlie's death, he had been wary of becoming a father again. He still felt responsible for Charlie's death and for not locking up his gun correctly. How would he handle this baby?<p>

Daniel came around ten minutes later. He kept his eyes closed. "I just had what has to be the craziest dream I've ever had to date. I dreamt that Janet did a sonogram and we found out I was pregnant."

Jack silently handed him the sonogram printout and sank back into his chair with a heavy sigh. Now that Daniel was awake, he could handle his own reaction.

Daniel opened his eyes and looked at the picture. He paled worryingly quick and white. "My god, it wasn't a dream." He cursed in every language he knew, which was a huge amount when you took into account all the alien languages he'd come into contact with while working in the Stargate Program.

Jack put his head in his hands and sighed again. "Daniel, we need to talk about this," he said softly.

Daniel took his glasses off and scrubbed his face. He sighed. "Yeah, we do. I'm sorry Jack. I don't know how this happened, but you shouldn't have to be forced into this situation." He hesitated. "If…If you want, we can have it taken care of."

Jack's head snapped up, his expression horrified. "No!" he said, his voice giving an unmanly squeak. "Daniel, do you…not want the baby?" He stammered out the question as if he was the one going to bear the child, not Daniel.

Daniel placed a hand on his stomach. He thought about it for a moment. "I…I do actually. It's…it's part of us, of both of us. It's going to be the best of you and me. It's just that our jobs are dangerous. And then there's the whole issue about Charlie. I don't want you to think or feel that something is going to happen. I love you, Jack. This is something that affects both of us and I refuse to put you in a position you don't want to be in."

Jack's worn hand rested on top of Daniel's, and a gentle kiss graced his forehead. "We'll work something out, but you're right. Two more dangerous jobs we couldn't have." He sighed once more. "I love you, Daniel. I promise I'm going to take care you and the baby."

"Tell me the truth on this: do you actually _want_ to or is this just something you feel responsible for? Because if it is, I don't want you to feel obligated. I can take care of both of us."

His eyes lowered to their joined hands resting protectively over their unborn child. He couldn't deny that the sound of the baby's heart had turned him cold inside, but it was the haunting memory of Charlie, not the idea of the baby itself. Jack shook his head to clear it. Charlie's death had caused him trouble long enough. This wasn't Charlie; it was Daniel's child. Daniel's and his. Where he had failed with Charlie, he would know better.

"Yes," he said, increasing the pressure of his hand just slightly for emphasis. "I want this child." Jack's eyes cleared. "I want it."

Daniel smiled. "I'm glad." He turned to Janet and Eva. "So, do we know how this is possible? And what do we need to do to keep it healthy?"

Eva Chance had turned red at the affection between the two men. There were straight couples that clearly didn't have the connection of Jack and Daniel. Blinking, she looked from one to the other before clearing her throat. "Dr. Jackson, have you heard of the Seahorse Effect?"

Daniel shook his head in the negative. He turned to Jack. "Jack?"

Jack gave Daniel and 'are you serious?' look.

Daniel shrugged and gave Eva his full attention.

Eva Chance sat on the end of the bed and rubbed the back of her head. "It's a birth defect found in roughly one in one hundred thousand men in the world population. It's not exactly hermaphrodism, but very few recognize the distinction. A man with this condition will live a completely normal life except for a …well, a kind of uterus attached to the… the rectum." Her cheeks pinked. "There are recorded cases that traced the rising occurrence of the defect. Most of the cases have been found by CAT scan, but that's not the real point! In the last few years, the occurrence of men with the symptoms of pregnancy had been noted. Men that had been…uh, the catcher of a homosexual encounter. Positive pregnancy tests, mood swings, nausea, fainting… However, none of the so-called pregnancies came to term to the knowledge of the medical community.

"This is where conjecture comes in, so bear with me," she continued quickly. "The human body is normally very resilient to change and malnutrition. However, since men aren't built for pregnancy, the system walks a razor edge. If the affected men didn't get the right nutrition, the fetus was aborted."

"So basically all we have to do is watch my diet? Seems easy enough."

"If only," said Fraiser under her breath.

"Diet, physical exertion, mental strain, stress, fatigue…" The younger woman shrugged. "The list goes on, Dr. Jackson."

"Daniel, you're taking a sabbatical until the kid's eighteen," Jack said.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Be realistic Jack. I _**can't**_ take a sabbatical, let alone for so long. The SGC _needs_ me. There aren't many people in my department that knows everything I do."

"Daniel," Jack said sternly. "There are four or five people we can put together for the translating. Give the lazy bums some work." He smiled when Eva Chance swallowed a giggle.

"They _do_ have work, Jack. Do you _know_ how many translations we have to do? We're backlogged as it is, and more are pouring in with every mission. We need everyone we can get. Besides, if I don't work, I'll get bored and do something you think is 'stupid'. And most women work until close to their due date. I'll do the same. And just to set you at ease, I'll only work normal hours and take breaks when I need them. You can always check on me if you feel you need to. But you aren't moving into my office." Daniel gave him a look Jack knew well, the one that said Daniel had made up his mind and it would not be changed.

And when Daniel got that look, practically _nothing_ could change his mind. Only once had it happened, when Jack finally got Daniel to agree to start seeing him through the use of his 'kicked puppy' look.

Jack cringed. Damn, Daniel could be so stubborn... Then again, Jack had been known to overreact when it came to the nerd. He sat quietly for a moment, his thumb gently stroking over Daniel's knuckles in a manner that was both absent and soothing. He remembered Sara's pregnancy with Charlie, how ill she had been and his presence had seemed to calm the ever-kicking Charlie. Something niggled in his mind, something surfacing slowly out of the depths of his past, and his thumb stilled. Sara had been the same way when she was pregnant. Stubborn with a strong desire to work, wanting something to do while the baby was incubating. Admittedly, Daniel was in a more dangerous position than Jack's ex-wife, but, he knew he would be just as stubborn.

"Okay, Danny-boy," Jack conceded. "But going off world is off-limits. How many times have you been hurt or killed on a mission?"

"Killed sixteen times," said Eva Chance without looking up from her computer screen. "We've lost count how many times he's ended up in here."

"Not counting when his appendix ruptured," added Frasier.

Daniel closed his eyes. He could believe that they had counted how many times he'd died, but honestly did _NOT_ believe that he'd been in the infirmary more times than could be counted. "I'm not that bad on missions. And I'm not going to stop going off world, Jack. I'll stop doing first contact missions, but I'm not going to be chained to my desk or the SGC. There are several safe planets I can go to: the Nox home world, places like that. Besides, I might be needed for diplomatic reasons."

His look dared Jack to try to force him off active duty altogether.

Jack dared.

He turned his attention to the attending physicians and asked, "Can you get him medical leave from off world missions? Or at least any that might be dangerous." In his hand, he felt his fingers get slick with sweat against the glossy back of the ultrasound print-out. He felt his heart beat through his thumb. One. Two. Three. Maybe he was being irrational after all. There was no guarantee that Daniel would be harmed if he went off world. There were plenty of times where nothing had happened to him.

Weren't there?

Eva Chance, who had been handed Daniel's care after the pregnancy was discovered (it was more her area of expertise), shook her head slowly. "Not until Dr. Jackson is officially classified as high-risk or near-term. It appeared to me that the fetus was approximately one to two months gestational age. While his risk of sudden termination is higher due to his gender, he is perhaps in the safest window for activity off world. Though I do warn you, Dr. Jackson, that you're going to get more weird looks than usual."

Daniel shrugged. "I get enough weird looks just for walking out of the Stargate onto a new world. There are still worlds that think we're gods because we use it. And I'm used to people talking behind my back; the academic community did shun me and my theory. I'm _STILL_ considered an academic pariah and it's been several years since that fateful presentation I met Catherine at." He turned to Jack. "I'll be alright Jack. I'll make a list of 'safe' planets and give it to the General."

He knew he wasn't going to win, not without medical back-up. So Jack relented begrudgingly. He looked up at Dr. Pratt and said, "I'd like all the information you have on the... on Daniel's condition."

Eva Chance shook her head. "I'm afraid there isn't much. Just... well, just what I've told you. I'll dig through my files and get hard copies for you if I can. Or," she added with a smirk, "you could read my doctoral thesis?"

"Think you could get me a SparkNotes version?" Jack asked, looking dazed at the idea. It wasn't that he wasn't interested (after all, his Daniel was _pregnant _with their child), but he didn't relish the idea of picking out the meaning of medico-scientific mumbo-jumbo. "Kind of a 'What To Expect When Your Boyfriend is Expecting'."

Daniel couldn't help but face-palm. "Honestly Jack." He looked at Eva. "I'll read it and give him the highlights if you'll give me a copy. I doubt he'd understand the 'spark notes' you give him."

"I'll try, but I suggest you rest for a while, Dr. Jackson. Morning sickness is unpredictable enough with a female pregnancy. Of what I've seen of yours... it's going to be even worse." She glanced at the kidney-shaped bowl at the side of Daniel's bed.

Daniel groaned. "This is not going to be pleasant." He glared at Jack. "I'm going to blame you for all that I'm going to go through. You do know that you're going to have to deal with me and all my possible cravings, don't you? All the midnight runs to the store or the kitchen for the oddest and most disgusting combinations of things. The running about looking for the texts and artifacts I want. I'm going to drive you absolutely bonkers."

"I know," Jack said. "It's not my first kid." Immediately after the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He didn't need to be reminded of Charlie and Sara, not when Daniel was his life now. Daniel and their baby. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at the IV line Fraiser had put in Daniel's arm to help replenish his fluids after being so sick. He traced a line from the silver needle down the archaeologist's forearm to his hand. Their fingers entwined. "I'll spoil you, Danny Boy."

Daniel squeezed Jack's hand. "I know it's not your first kid, Jack. And you don't need to feel guilty. Everything's going to work out. Besides, I don't want you to spoil me. Just love us, that's all I ask."

"Why? I've been doing that for years."

Daniel's blue eyes rolled. "And I've been telling you _not_ to for years. There's nothing in this world I want that I don't already have. Love is the only important thing."

Jack shook his head, smiling. Daniel _had_ been saying the same thing since they got together, and he hadn't listened to a word. He never would. The Space Monkey had a habit of getting himself into positions where spoiling him was just too damned easy. Laid up after nearly dying, laid up after his appendectomy, laid up…. well, after just about anything. He didn't like seeing Daniel in the infirmary, but Jack had gotten used to the fact that he was more accident prone than a monkey with matches.

Leaning over, Jack kissed his boyfriend on the cheek and ruffled his hair softly. "How you feel, Space Monkey?"

Daniel shrugged. "Not so nauseous anymore. Still a little in shock, but," he smiled tenderly at Jack. "But happy."


	3. Into the Rabbit Hole

Chapter 3: Into the Rabbit Hole

Disclaimer: See Chapter One.

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><p>It was late by the time Jack and Daniel returned home. Dragging his feet a little up the front porch steps, Jack unlocked the door and opened it, listening for abnormal sounds. After a few seconds, there was a soft plop, a mew, and the tinkling of a tiny bell. It was a familiar sound, reassuring in its subtlety. Jack toed off his sneakers at the door and looked over his shoulder.<p>

"Ches! Alice! We're back." He clicked his tongue a few times, and the jingling grew faster and louder as it approached. The source appeared in the square of blue moonlight. It was a tiny tabby kitten wearing a white belled collar. This was Alice, Daniel's darling. She hadn't grown an inch since Daniel moved in with Jack, but she was a damn good mouser. Ches – Jack's cantankerous tiger – wouldn't stoop to chasing mice.

"Hi there, Alice," Jack greeted her and ruffled her oversized ears. "Where's your baby-sitter? Ches!"

The silver tabby sauntered into view and looked at Jack disdainfully as if to ask why he had disturbed her.

"Sorry, Ches," Jack said. "We have something to discuss with you ladies." Though normally a pragmatic man, he believed that talking to cats made them smarter. He couldn't be sure if it worked on Alice, though; she still acted surprised when she ran into a window screen.

He took Daniel's hand and squeezed, kissed his cheek, and closed the door behind them. The deadbolt clicked into place, and Alice gave a mew of contentment. She wound herself around Daniel's ankles, purring loudly. Jack looked at his lover. "How do you think we should tell them about the baby?"

Ches sniffed disdainfully and carefully rubbed against Daniel's leg, purring like no tomorrow. She glared at Jack from behind Daniel's leg where Daniel would not see.

"I think they already know, Jack. They do say that animals are able to sense things we can't. A lot of animal owners say that their pets know when they have something wrong with them or are expecting." He looked down at the cats. "And the girls have been sticking close to me, Ches far more than usual."

Ches' purring grew louder at the statement.

Jack looked down at the animal and scowled. He had a real love-hate relationship with Ches. He adored her, she hated him. Most of the time. He looked at Daniel and nodded. "And since they're not avoiding you like cheap cat food, I take it they're… happy for us?" he prompted. "If they're not gentle, though, we're having them declawed."

Ches hissed at that before taking several strides back and taking a running leap to land lightly on Daniel's shoulders. She rubbed her cheek against Daniel's and looked at Jack smugly as if to say 'see? I'm _way_ more gentle than _you_ are'.

Daniel laughed as Ches began to nuzzle and lick at his temples, purring louder than ever. He scratched her head and she leaned into the touch. "I think they are."

Jack stepped back automatically, knowing that if the mood struck her, Ches would claw his face to ribbons. She may have been his cat, but she didn't act like it. Instead, he picked up little Alice and smiled as she purred loudly, kneading his hand with her little paws and scratching lightly with needle claws. Alice knew no stranger.

"Good, but I think we should consider dulling their claws at least."

If looks could kill, Jack would have long been dust from Ches' glare. She turned around carefully on Daniel's shoulder and presented Jack with her rump.

"I don't think Ches is for that idea in any way. And I'm not sure I am either. We'll just keep that as an option for if they do scratch." Daniel offered.

Ches peered around his head at Alice. "Alice," she meowed, knowing that neither human would get the words but might get the sentiment, "not one claw is to be laid on Danny or the kit when it gets here. Got me? I don't want to lose my claws."

Alice opened one big blue eye and gave Ches a look of mixed ecstasy and understanding. Then she squeezed them shut again and was lost to the world.

Jack scratched her ears and then set her down on the floor, where she lay in a blissful stupor. He shook his head; that crazy kitten. He rubbed his eyes, pushed his shoes into the corner of the foyer. It was late, and he was tired after the events of the day. As he walked up to the bedroom, he paused to look at the office across from the master bedroom. It was a combination of his stuff and Daniel's, archaeology mixing with Jack's guns and fishing sundries. There was also a connecting door to what used to be Charlie's room, which had been locked since Daniel and Alice moved in. It was the only room in the house that could be the new baby's nursery.

Jack swallowed at the idea of opening Charlie's old room and replacing his son's possessions with that of a different child.

Daniel had followed Jack but a moment behind and saw the expression on Jack's face. He wrapped his arms around Jack's waist and rested his chin on Jack's shoulder.

There were no words spoken, and Daniel hoped Jack could hear the words and feelings Daniel couldn't articulate.

Ches sat at the top of the stairs, tip of her tail flicking back and forth. Not only would she have to look after both danger-friendly Daniel and Alice, but her own human would need a little extra attention and care. With a nod, Ches decided that the first step would be a thorough and lengthy temple bathing. But that would have to wait until he was deeply asleep. It wouldn't do for her human to get the idea that she actually liked him after all. She had an image to uphold.

Jack let himself deflate a little and put a hand on top of Daniel's arms. He knew he was being stupid; it was more-or-less his default position. If only he could make himself realize that what was important wasn't Charlie; it was Daniel. He turned a few degrees to kiss his lover's temple before stepping back.

"While you're resting tomorrow, I need to start going through Charlie's room. See what we can use for the new baby and what we can get rid of. And you _are_ resting tomorrow," he added pointedly. "At least while you're puking up your guts. Eva Chance said she'd explain to Hammond tomorrow why we're taking a few days off."

"Do you want me to help you? I mean, I don't even have to touch anything, I could just sit in there with a book in case you need anything." Daniel offered.

Ches snorted softly. From the vibes she was seeing around Daniel, she could tell he wouldn't be having a good time come morning. And Jack would probably need to do the upcoming task alone, needing to return to Daniel's arms at the end of the day. She knew what it was like to lose one's kit and sometimes you just had to work through the pain alone.

"If you want to. I think it's just his clothes and some furniture…" Jack trailed and shook his head a little. "I'll be fine. It's time I cleaned it out anyway. It's been eighteen years. Everything's probably covered in dust."

Alice climbed on top of Ches' head and cocked her head at the couple. She didn't understand why their humans were so sad. Now, she wasn't old enough to have had kittens, but she knew it was supposed to be a happily occasion. So why were they so upset? For answer, she looked down at Ches and made a garbled noise in question, setting her chin on the top of her baby-sitter's head.

Ches let her. "My human lost his kit and never really dealt with the pain. With the new kit on the way, he's got to clean out the room the first kit slept and played in. It's hard to lose a kit, especially when you blame yourself for the loss. Danny is offering his support, but he won't get much farther than the bathroom come morning," she replied in quiet mews.

Daniel looked over at the two cats. It wasn't the first time that Alice had perched herself on Ches' head, but it was very strange that Ches never knocked her off.

"Jack, I want to be there with you through everything. As long as you want me there, I will be there. Besides, a little dust is not going stop me from helping you."

Jack knew he was beat. He nodded and put a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "It's late. We need to get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll start cleaning out. Maybe there's stuff we can put in a garage sale."

Alice flicked one of her large ears and cocked her head more, meowing quietly. Jack looked at the two felines and shook his head. Cats.

Daniel let Jack lead him to their room and changed into the blue pajamas Jack handed him. Of course the pajamas were put on with the now natural eye roll since Jack had a habit of making Daniel wear lots of blue.

He settled down on his side of the bed after brushing his teeth, petting the two cats as they settled in for the night. He did spare Ches an odd look as she settled between his and Jack's pillows instead of at the foot of the bed as usual.

Jack pulled on his sweatpants and t-shirt and crawled into bed, pushing the kitten from his pillow. Alice squeaked, crawled up the body of her fellow furball, and turned her rough tongue on Ches' ears. Jack shook his head at them and kissed his partner tenderly. "Sleep well, Daniel. The bathroom door's still open if you get sick."

Daniel rolled his eyes again. "Thank you, Jack. That is such a romantic gesture. Goodnight Jack."

Ches shot Jack a baleful look before flicking her ear that Alice wasn't cleaning and loafing herself further between the pillows.

Jack chuckled and closed his eyes after securely wrapping his arms around Daniel. He missed the very amused look on Alice's face.

Ches waited until Jack and Daniel were both deeply asleep before carefully wriggling out from between the pillows, taking up a perch _on_ Jack's pillow, and beginning to clean Jack's temples. With the age old prescription, everything should work out for the next day well enough that there would be no bloodshed and a minimal number of tears.

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><p>AN: Cat: Okay, seems like no one is reviewing, which is rather depressing. Reviews mean we are more likely to work on it...and I'm more likely to take my ass south to Kit's house so we_ can_ work on it. Sooooo, in other words: PLEASE REVIEW! We live off reviews...and tea, but our little stomachs are growling for the former. Feed us please! *big watery cat's eyes*

Kit: Pweeeze review. Don't make Kit cry. *sniffle, sniffle*


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